Keeping My Head in the Clouds and My Feet on the Ground

I meant to post these pictures a week ago, but grad school simply didn't grant me enough time. However, I did take the time to stop for a moment and smell the roses, or look at the sky, in this case. I had just finished helping my friend teach Bible class on Wednesday night, and as I was walking out to my car, I looked up. That's when I saw them.

Clouds. I've always loved clouds. I look at clouds like that, and I can't help but picture God with his divine paintbrush, sweeping the clouds to the side with one smooth stroke so that the sunset will reflect it's amber colors upward in the most beautiful way imaginable. Every time I look to the sky, I am mesmerized. I remember that when I was little, I used to imagine that when I went to Heaven someday, I would get to stand on a cloud. Clouds just always seem so mystical, so out of reach, so incredibly immense, always present, but always elusive. I think it was for that very reason that I was also amazed by fog. I remember asking Mom what the fog was, and she told me, "Fog is what happens when the clouds come down to the ground." Wow. I couldn't figure out why people thought it was such a pain to drive in the fog. I thought it was incredible. Clouds are always in the sky, but when there's fog, you can touch a cloud. You can walk through it. You can reach the unreachable.

I won't lie, though. I was pretty disappointed to discover that clouds were water vapor. After all, how was I going to sit on a cloud in Heaven if it was just water vapor? What a let-down! Then I remembered that God can do anything, and consoled myself by saying that maybe when I get to Heaven, where everything is perfect, God will let me sit on a cloud after all.

By the way, I think God is always trying to get our attention. I took this picture at the same time as the others, and later I discovered the cloud on the right. It's shaped like an arrow pointing down to the horizon. Do you see it?

It's as if God brushed the clouds to the side, so He could direct our attention to the sunset. By the way, I tried to take some pictures of the sky while I was in the church parking lot, but there was too much city stuff in the way. So I decided to give up on taking pictures. On the way to my parents' house, though, I had to stop at the gas station, and I just couldn't help myself. I ran to the field and started taking pictures.


That's another thing I love about clouds. Pictures of clouds are beautiful, but photographs never do them justice. You just have to see them for yourself, and they never stay the same for more than a moment. They're always slowly moving across the sky, changing colors as the sun rises and sets. My absolute favorite is when there's a hole in the clouds, and the sun comes shining through. I've always imagined that's what the sky looked like when Jesus ascended into the heavens, and I've always imagined that's what it will look like when He comes again.

I just love clouds. I guess it's because they remind me of the One who made them.